Climate

April 15, 2008 - US NewsWire Service - A spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service today apologized for the inadvertent release of an unauthorized letter* written to accompany the economic stimulus payments to households across America. The IRS spokesman said that taxpayers should ignore the letter, originally written for review and consideration by the White House. Congressional leaders asked for an investigation into how the letter was released. The document is reproduced below:

Dear U.S. Citizen,

Enclosed is your economic stimulus payment for 2008. The check amount is as follows: $600 for a single person, $1,200 for a married couple, and $300 per child, for families making less than $75,000 ($150,000 for a couple).

Speaking of children, if you have any, you should thank them for loaning you this money. After all, they are the ones who will have to pay it back. If you are blessed with grandchildren, don't forget to thank them too. They'll be paying off the interest.

Welcome to the New America Foundation’s Climate Program Blog. This weekly snapshot will offer insights into the most effective climate solutions around the U.S. and the world. We’ll also ask guest bloggers to give us their analysis and provocative suggestions for getting these solutions into practice -- before it’s too late.

You might be asking yourself why I would mention “U.S.” and “climate solutions” in the same sentence, considering that while we are 5% of the world’s population and generate over 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases, we are the only industrialized nation that has refused to ratify the Kyoto accord. The good news is that the U.S. contribution to battling climate change is taking shape in municipal, state, and regional governments, despite the lack of any contribution by our federal leadership.

Just wanted to share the video from our Dec. 12, 2007 webinar on the topic of cap-and-trade plans scope of coverage and point of regulation. We're doing a series of these in partnership with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the World Resources Institute -- this is Webinar #2 -- and will post additional in the coming days.